The decision of the Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organisation (ENPO) to boycott the 2023 Assembly polls in the state over their demand for ‘Frontier Nagaland’ has not gone down too well with the Naga Peoples Front or NPF, the oldest regional party in the northeast.
Reacting to the decision of the ENPO, NPF Secretary General Achumbemo Kikon said that the party would not like to dwell much on the demand of the ENPO however, the stand of the party is that the nagas have a common vision of having a homeland and a nation of their own and it does not subscribe to a piecemeal solution.
Viewing the ENPO decision as a move only to mount pressure on the government for its demand of a separate statehood “Frontier Nagaland”, Kikon added that the NPF does not want to dwell much on the stand taken by the ENPO.
It may be mentioned here that the ENPO holds a majority of a total of 20 seats out of the 60 Assembly constituencies in the state, and if the 2023 elections are boycotted then this will be a major stumbling block for all the political parties intending to participate in the elections.
Kikon was of the view that since there are still 6 months left for the 2023 assembly polls, the competent authority has sufficient time to address the issue.
He, however, reiterated the stand of the party that in no way it encourages a piecemeal solution to the Naga issue.
The review meeting was attended by Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Tripura.
In total, around 1,200-1,400 houses primarily belonging to Bengali-speaking Muslims, were demolished during the eviction…